My long-term interest has been in the use of landscape by fauna and the impact of human activities on that use. My research has involved working with kangaroos and other macropods, although I also work with many different types of fauna, including wombats, small mammals and birds. Through research towards my PhD at the University of Melbourne, I showed that eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus ) engage in ideal habitat selection (Ramp and Coulson 2004) and exhibit density dependence when selecting foraging habitat in altered landscapes (Ramp and Coulson 2002). This research suggests that management of kangaroo populations in semi-rural matrices should be conducted through habitat modification, rather than through culling, as this is the only way to restore the natural balance between plants and animals in these environments. See Kangaroos: Myths and Realities for more information.

 

 

As a wildlife ecologist my focus is on the impacts of roads on wildlife and on how these impacts can be mitigated. As such, my research encompasses a wide range of work examining how wildlife populations survive around roads, what sort of prevention measures might reduce impacts, and what behaviour is exhibited by animals around roads. As a consequence, I do captive behavioural experiments with native fauna, do field-based surveys of wildlife populations, and do computer-based modelling. I also engage in research that examines the human trauma associated with animal-vehicle collisions, leading me to collaborate with injury risk management specialists and civil engineers.

 

I had an Australian Research Council Postdoctoral Research Fellowship between 2003 and 2005. As part of this grant (LP0346925)  I pursued research examining the collection of statistics on wildlife fatalities on roads and investigated prevention technologies. I developed a modelling process for identifying road-based fatality hotspots (Ramp et al. 2005) that dramatically improves on previous modelling attempts worldwide. This tool-kit can be used to predict the location of hotspots for mitigation efforts and identify those factors contributing to fatalities in those areas.

 

I also provided quantitative evidence on the efficacy of wildlife warning reflectors as potential fatality mitigation devices for Australian fauna (Ramp & Croft 2006). The evidence obtained in captivity with kangaroos suggests that these devices do not alter their behaviour enough to recommend their installation. Research investigating the potential of odour repellents to minimise time spent by macropodids on roadside verges suggests that this mitigation method might have some potential but more research is required to assess its effectiveness (Ramp, Russell & Croft 2005). I have also conducted experiments on acoustic deterrents, including the use of foot-thumping by Macropodids, that looks at sound as a non-lethal alternative to 1080 baiting in plantation forests, but may also have application in road environments (Rose, Ramp & Banks 2006).

 

This work is designed to provide conservation managers with strategies for addressing the impact of roads within a broader disturbance framework. I work closely with local councils, government departments, insurance agencies, road construction companies, animal welfare agencies and the community to help riase awareness and target specific problem areas.

 

Most of this work has been profiled through various media outlets (e.g. ABC TV program Catalyst). Some recent radio interviews on the 2SER radio program 'A question of balance' can be downloaded as MP3s.

 

 

We have entered Earth's sixth mass extinction event, this time human-driven. Protected areas are a major preventative option but we need information on the spatial and temporal distributions of biodiversity within these regions. My research focuses on modelling techniques for quantifying spatial and temporal patterns of biodiversity. I am interested in the effectiveness of current reserves for biodiversity conservation and determining how to best manage at different spatial scales. It is also important to quantify the conservation importance and spatial impacts of anthropogenic drivers (frequent fires, climate change and invasive species) on biodiversity. In combination, this research seeks to deliver conservation policy and management options through analysis of trends and development of spatially-explicit models within an adaptive environmental management framework.
 
I am collaborating with Richard Kingsford, Shawn Laffan, David Warton, John Merson, Rosalie Chapple, Ross Bradstock, Tony Auld, Robert Mulley and Peter Fleming on an ARC Linkage project working on the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. This WHA is over one million hectares in size and includes eight National Parks. Between 2007 and 2009 our project has the following aims: